URGENT: Last chance to vote!

I am writing to remind you that today is the last day for you to vote to create a single NSGEU administrative professional bargaining unit which will represent all members across the province.

This vote has one simple objective: it will allow administrative professionals the opportunity to stay with their union, the NSGEU.

I know this is a complicated and difficult time for all healthcare workers and this vote has created some confusion. Let me answer two common questions about this vote.

The first question many are asking is ‘Why are we doing this?’

The simple answer is because the provincial government passed a law which forces the creation of a province-wide bargaining unit for administrative professionals on April 1 of this year. That law forces all administrative professionals across Nova Scotia to bargain a single collective agreement.

The vote we are holding now gives administrative professionals the best chance to remain with their union (the NSGEU) when this forced transfer takes place.

Another common question is ‘If we vote yes, will this mean we must take the IWK collective agreement?’

Absolutely not.

The NSGEU has already negotiated with your employers that you will keep all the rights and conditions of your existing collective agreement even when the forced merger of bargaining units takes place on April 1. So your rights and conditions of employment do not change with this vote.

However, this vote may likely decide whether the NSGEU or another union represents you when administrative professionals return to the bargaining table for the next round of bargaining. Voting yes will likely mean you will be able to remain with your union – the NSGEU – and the NSGEU will be able to fight to protect the good benefits administrative professionals have negotiated over the years.